In the thread about joining ILCA to get lactation consultancy out of the fringe and into the mainstream, I have to put in my 30 ml. I pay membership dues to the professional association that is my bargaining agent in salary matters and that goes to bat for me on the job. In my book, the people who don't pay their dues are getting a free ride on the backs of paying members, and they are just marginally above what I was brought up to call 'scab labor'. I pay dues to voluntary organizations that do work I want to support, in the service of breastfeeding and several other things. It is a rare professional association that can function as bargaining agent across international borders, so rare that I am not aware of any in existence. Different countries have such different systems for organizing and financing health care services, for education, designation and licensing of health professionals, that it would seem impossible for one international organization to represent the interests of employees with one particular international credential. I do not expect ILCA to represent my interests as a clinician working with breastfeeding in Norway. I expect my union to do that, and I let them know it in no uncertain terms. There is no such animal as a lactation consultant in the zoological gardens of the Norwegian health service. There are several species with LC characteristics, and all of them are represented by unions who will argue that their pay should reflect the special competence they hold in the field of lactation consultancy. I am not sure what I expect from ILCA on a world wide basis beyond publishing a top-flight journal. I do expect that whatever they do, be equally applicable to ALL members, whatever their country of residence, in order to justify the similar dues they pay. Other fields have international confederations to which the corresponding national groups belong, and it is the confederations who form international policy on behalf of the profession. I am most familiar with the International Confederation of Midwives. One of the things they do is help midwives in countries without organizations for midwives, to start such groups. They contribute to the development of educational programs for midwives, and they advocate credentialing according to common criteria to be used in all countries. But it is not possible to be an individual member of the ICM; your national association is a member, on your behalf. This is more what I expect of ILCA, I think. Rachel Myr midwife, IBCLC Kristiansand, Norway *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html